GEO 303 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Aurora, Atmospheric Entry, Ammonium Hydrosulfide
23 Dec 2017
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Surrounding this core are enormous layers of hydrogen & helium. The differences in composition b/w jupiter & saturn & the terrestrial planets reflect differences in how these planets formed & the low temps that exist in the outer solar. The velocity of a gas molecule depends on both temp & molecular mass. Lighter molecules move faster, as do molecules at higher temps. If a sufficient fraction of a particular species is moving faster than the . The average speed of a given molecular species must be less than one-sixth the escape velocity for that species to survive over the age of the solar system. Atmospheres very rapidly except at very low temps. Hydrogen & helium are very light gases, so the atoms of these species will be moving. The only way these gases can be retain in the atm of a planet is if: The planet is very massive (& therefore has a strong gravitational field)
